In July 2020 the CoC board approved the creation of the Ad Hoc Committee on Addressing Homelessness Among Black San Diegans. According to the 2020 Point-In-Time (PIT) count, people who are black accounted for 21% of the unsheltered population and 30% of the sheltered population, while only accounting for 5.5% of the general population in San Diego County. The purpose of the Ad Hoc Committee is to explore the factors contributing to disparities among people who are black experiencing homelessness, listen and engage in extensive public dialogue with community stakeholders, and to develop a series of recommendations that the CoC can take to better address the impacts of systemic racism and its effects within the homeless crisis response system. This committee is chaired by board member Pastor Rolland Slade and committee member San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera.

Community Engagement Subcommittee

The Ad Hoc AHABSD Committee strives to actively listen to the community, especially those with lived experience. The Community Engagement Subcommittee was formed to lead and design community participation and collaboration processes in order to listen to critical voices in San Diego. The input received through the community engagement activities from key stakeholders and people with lived experience will further inform the overall recommendations from the AHABSD Ad Hoc Committee to the CoC Advisory Board for adoption.

The Health and Homelessness Ad Hoc Committee was formed to address issues related to the interaction of health and homelessness and to further integrate best practices among housing, social service and health providers that benefit the unsheltered we mutually serve, by addressing the wholistic needs of people, and establishing smooth transitions between health and homeless provider systems.  The Ad Hoc Committee will develop strategies and use cases to link systems through the use of data to improve the continuum of care processes related to the attainment of housing for people who are unsheltered and need healthcare, accounting for differences throughout the region in needs and resources.  The Ad Hoc Committee may establish and coordinate focus groups, surveys, or key informant interviews to facilitate the achievement of goals, including actively seeking input from people with lived experience. Members represent hospital and healthcare systems, homeless and housing service providers, people with lived experience, and 211. 

There is a growing number of older adults facing homelessness, and their needs are different than other populations experiencing homelessness.  The purpose of the Ad Hoc Committee on Aging and Homelessness is to identify the unique needs of this vulnerable population, and develop recommendations to address them.